5 Marketing Lessons We Can Learn from the Angry Birds Cookbook

Posted on November 1, 2011

You probably wouldn’t think that a game developer like Rovio Mobile would be into self-publishing books. After all, in less than 2 years they have had over 400 million downloads of their Angry Birds branded puzzle video games.

Yes, it’s true! They’ve chosen to make a new egg recipe cookbook available in pre-order as a hardcover book. This may seem especially odd since about 100% of their fan base has played their games on high tech mobile devices, computers, or game consoles.

Let’s learn how to slingshot our marketing campaigns.

Lesson 1: Publish a Book

If a game developer like Rovio Mobile can self-publish a book, so can you. It can take a little creativity to discover how to tie in your brand, but once you do, you can easily reach out to other markets. Now Angry Birds will be on the minds of Moms and Dads who are looking to have a little fun with egg recipes for their bad little piggies.

Peter Vesterbacka, Rovio’s head of marketing and business development, said Rovio’s Angry Birds cookbook will be targeted at families and include mostly egg-based recipes. Every business should consider reaching their target audience through multiple sales channels.

Ask yourself this. How can self-publishing help you connect with your target audience? Can you help consumers connect with you by writing a book?

Lesson 2: Create a Pre-Launch Strategy

Why would Rovio Mobile fly back to old media when most books sold on Amazon today are digital ebooks? In fact, Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch recently said “We now sell three times as many digital books as all formats of physical books combined.”

Simply put, hard cover glossy books sell for more money. While ebooks are all the rage, they can be difficult to wrap. The release date in late November is not just a coincidence. As a physical product they fit well under the Christmas tree. Rest assured, loyal ebook readers can be certain that an ebook version isn’t far behind.

Lesson 3: Build Buzz About Your Brand

Publishing is a great way to get your message and your brand into the news on a regular basis.

Rovio could have flung millions of dollars into advertising campaigns prior to the Christmas holidays. Instead, they are building social buzz, excitement and branding essentially for free. This is especially true if you consider that the pre-sales from their books will likely cover any marketing expenses they have prior to the Christmas rush.

Lesson 4: Know who you are.

Is Rovio Mobile just another popular mobile gaming company? Not according to Vesterbacka. They see themselves as a major entertainment brand that “may even create a movie someday.”

So what about you? Does your company simply sell widgets, or do you help people solve problems and achieve their goals? Why do customers really come to you and how can you help them accomplish their goals through publishing?

Your ability to publish creates new opportunities for you as an expert in your industry. This can include public speaking, referrals, interviews, and being able to set your own rates based on brand value rather than trying to compete as the lowest bidder.

Lesson 5: Start Publishing Now

Don’t wait for a major publishing deal. Rovio turned down deals with traditional publishers who wanted 90% of the revenue share. With today’s self-publishing technologies, you can reach tens of millions of Kindle, iPad , Nook and Smartphone owners without printing a single piece of paper. Not to mention the hundreds of millions of Mac and PC owners.

Likewise, with print-on-demand services like CreateSpace and LuLu, there should be nothing stopping you from getting your books into the hands of traditional book readers. You no longer have to worry about a pallet full of books taking up space in your garage. Start Publishing Now!

Do you have questions about how you can apply these marketing lessons in your business? Then please leave a comment below and feel free to share this story with your friends.